Curiously entitled: “The Manifesto of a Stubborn Goat, A Citizen’s Engagement With Nigeria”, the thoughts are some of the various essays of the eminent academic and public intellectual that were published in different media outlets in the last three decades.

Apparently to spare me the agony of affirming that the more things change in the country, the more they remain the same, the essayist granted me access to Volume Two only. Whoever has had access to the first volume must be going through the same discomfort that I have been subjected to since I started reading the compilation.

That other person, or persons, will raise the same question as I have done, that: If our leaders –  from the Shehu Shagari administration in the Second Republic, to the military juntas and their subsequent civilian counterparts in the relay race to the economic and social damnation of the country –  have had access to such sublime treatises, why is the country still in the woods?

In 147,207 words, strewn across 396 pages and seven chapters, Onigbinde is as acerbic and unsparing as the occasions demand. Leafing through the pages, the reader will come to one ineluctable conclusion: Nigeria is at its current sorry pass, not for want of critical guidance over the years but, clearly, as a consequence of its leaders’ refusal to heed wise counsel, year after year, and decade after decade.

Onigbinde, a Philosophy teacher has over the years committed an egregious “offence” – in the fashion of the self-styled former military-President Ibrahim Babangida – by teaching what he was not paid to! He went beyond that, the “stubborn goat” carried his advocacy beyond the walls of the classroom to the society at large.

At various times, he has been a member and columnist with several newspapers, and Editorial Board chairman of some other.

Both in class and on the pages of newspapers, and lately in social media, the essayist remains unbowed and unsparing in drawing attention to the ills of the society and pointing out the way forward for the country.

The “Stubborn Goat” is an appellation that he earned from his loving but exasperated mother, Titilola Ayoka, who always wondered why her son, even at a tender age in Iwaya, Yaba, Lagos, where he grew up, would rather accept punishment than watch fellow kids suffer injustice. It is a trait that Prof. Onigbinde has carried on to this day. In the compilation, the reader is confronted with the thoughts of a public intellectual who takes no sides in political discuss other than that of truth as he sees it.

On the much-touted anti-graft war of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) compared to that of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) from which it wrested power in 2015, Onigbinde says:

“If Nigeria, under (the) PDP administration, was deemed to be ‘fantastically corrupt’, the Nigerian State under (the) APC has been corruption-personified, both in its politics and in its handling of our finances.”

If that was hard-hitting on both parties, Onigbinde has harsher words for leaders across parties at the sub-national level. He writes: “Nigeria is a huge paradox. It defies easy categorization. And, by and large, a dialogue with Motherland is never a pleasant encounter.”

The compilation starts in Chapter 1, with an allegory of public transportation to describe the country. It is entitled: “At The Sentinel … A Government By Conductors”. The driver is giddy, the conductors are fully intoxicated, the road is ridden with pot-holes, and the vehicle is decrepit. Law enforcement agents who are on the road to maintain sanity are faced with existential problems. The resultant crash of the vehicle, with its human content is predictable. Somebody has to summon the courage to put a halt to the journey, to save humanity and the big nation called Nigeria.

A university teacher for decades, Onigbinde is perhaps at his best elements when discussing issues around education. In a country where members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) are near-permanently at loggerheads with government over adequate funding, with both parties often removing the gloves and engaging in bloody fights. It is little wonder that the essayist is on the side of his colleagues. Interestingly, he does not pull punches even with Vice Chancellors, many of whom he says are more interested in personal gains than the common good.

His words:

“For years we have refused to see the average Nigerian Vice Chancellor as a Trojan horse. To be clear, the average Vice-Chancellor, under the present anti-intellectual dispensation, is a careerist, a social climber who sees the office not as a call to duty for the benefit of the academia, but as a ladder to more juicy government patronages. Therefore, to expect an incumbent to defend intellectual integrity based on some assumed time-hallowed tradition is to misread his own unhidden agenda.”

Oluyinka Olujimi

Onigbinde is not done. He wonders at the readiness of many Vice Chancellors to throw their colleagues under the bus to please military rulers and politicians at different times.

His words:

“If we sound rather spiteful, witness the post-ASUU-FG encounter scenarios in some of our universities across the land. While the logic of the situation dictated sober reflection, a rapprochement and realignment of forces to pick up the pieces and build from the ruins of seven months war of attrition, some of our Vice-Chancellors chose to play Dracula, carrying out a mopping-up operation against shell-shocked colleagues. With refracted binoculars, they sought to fish out imaginary enemy hide-outs. Taking advantage of the disorganised retreat of the embattled dons, and operating from an assumed position of strength, they drove home their victory.”

Chapter Two, is entitled “Dialogue With Fatherland,” and opens with “Shehu Shagari’s Verbal Accident”. Here, Onigbinde  dissects the former ruler who is largely believed to have set the tone for Nigeria’s descent into economic and political anomie during the Second Republic that was mercifully brought to an end by the repressive duo of Muhammadu Buhari and Tunde Idiagbon. He regards as “insulting” an attempt by Shagari “to absolve himself from the blame of the disastrous Second Republic.” He adds: “As a country, we have the capacity, as it has always been demonstrated to a fault, to forgive those who can be seen to have wronged us, more so, when such people show remorse or can be perceived to be genuinely ignorant of the magnitude of their ‘misbehavior’ in public life. But this amnesty should never be mistaken for amnesia.”

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo is lacerated in several pages of the compilation, a treatment of which Buhari, Goodluck Jonathan and the incumbent President Bola Ahmed Tinubu also got generous doses.

As the Buhari civilian administration engaged Obasanjo in verbal warfare, Onigbinde was unmoved by arguments on either side. In an opinion he penned to remind Nigerians of the flirtatious mutual dance when it was convenient for both camps to kick the then President Jonathan out of power, he urged the people to remember that they were birds of a feather. His words:

“The Buharists, self-appointed defenders of iniquities and clannishness of a stone-age despot, celebrated Obasanjo’s letters when the self-serving former President was in support of their course, as ‘Navigator’ of their ill-fated ocean-liner to be launched at sea by a most incompetent sailor. Now, to the Buharists, and his permanent ‘hailers’, Olusegun Obasanjo is no longer ‘courageous’, a tag the former military head of state, and a war hero was tagged when Muhammadu Buhari, along with his fellow hypocrites went to solicit for the support of the former president while incubating their political party.”

Not to be mistaken as offering any support for Obasanjo, Onigbinde quickly adds: “Thus, while Obasanjo was right, with respect to the issues raised in his letter to Buhari, the former president only played, once again, his opportunistic, tactical approach in political relevance by plagiarizing on other peoples ‘original works’. Due credit must be accorded the serially abused, and insulted army of ‘wailers’ who endured those ‘inverted logic’ of ‘hailers’ rationalization of Buhari’s glaring incompetence as Nigeria’s president.”

The book also, however, includes significant human angle essays, like: Kunle Ajibade: “The Coup Plotter”, EndSARS And Our Veterans, Dele Farotimi: The Big Man Syndrome And The Nigerian Slave Mentality,   Lamentation For Tanimola, At A Summit With My Friends – Mufutau, in Ijebu-Igbo, and Musiliu, in Ibadan, The Abortion Debate, Siding With Olikoye Ransome-Kuti. The list is almost endless.

The topics are varied and strategically, I believe, not arranged in a chronological order. The reader only needs to open to a page, any page, and be arrested by the depths of the issues discussed. That adds to the enigmatic compilation which the public should look forward to devouring.

Set to be unveiled in Ibadan, Oyo State, on Monday January 26, the “Manifesto” will be a part of activities marking the 70th birthday of the eminent essayist.

…Olujimi, a journalist and lawyer, lives in Texas, USA

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Between 1980 and 1985, the Maitatsine Riots encompassed a series of violent religious uprisings in Northern Nigeria. It was initiated and led by Muhammad Marwa (Maitatsine), whose followers belonged to the militant Islamic sect, Yan Tatsine. The conflict began in Kano and spread to other cities, resulting in thousands of deaths before it was suppressed by the Nigerian military.

The crisis Nigeria currently faces was foretold in the Maitatsine and other Reports. The deepening poverty and woes in the North and parts of Nigeria were largely caused by the destruction of the agricultural value chain. This destruction was exacerbated by the termination of the 1963 Republican Constitution in 1966, and the irresponsible fixation on a misplaced depiction of an oil boom. The inability to reverse the destruction of the rural economy in Northern Nigeria, alongside the failure to make education free and compulsory from the age of 16, starting around 1977, ultimately led us to where we are today.

Former Military President Ibrahim Babangida’s misconceived and now-discredited Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP) also added salt to the North’s festering injury. And, as if the gods were angry, SAP deconstructed its nascent industrial base, wiping out fundamental industries such as textiles. Nobody should be surprised, in view of this that we landed in the era of Boko Haram. Indeed, it would have been absurd had we not landed in that era. Having landed in that era, the political will to tackle the root cause was lacking. Instead, what became depicted as an insurgency opened a vast new avenue for making money by members of the connected political and military establishment.

The military industrial complex arose out of the war against terror. Without parliamentary oversight worth the name, a never-ending war found a stool and sat comfortably in the country. Sadly, the Return on Investment (ROI) for those profiting from this war might be as high as an investment in Oil and Gas. Even a primary school student can do a Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA) of the profiteering and conclude, beyond any reasonable doubt, that Nigeria has been badly defrauded in the pursuit of what is now a phantom war against terror.

The National Assembly must now, as a way out of terror, do a forensic audit into spending on the war against terror, stretching back fifteen years. This will reveal everything and show conclusively that even if we quadruple expenditure on Defence spending, the war will go on ad infinitum. This is simple common sense, for no turkey votes for an early Christmas. We have an entrenched business encompassing the high and the mighty, and dismantling it would be a determined Herculean task. If we do not dismantle the business framework, we will be fighting the war against terror until the Year 2050, and beyond.

Worryingly, Nigeria does not have the much needed Unexplained Sources of Wealth Act, even though, commendably, Senator Ali Ndume from Borno South is proposing one. It is only by asking people to account for their wealth that we can really get to the root of the profiteering and racketeering industry that has arisen from the war against terror over the past fifteen years.

In addition to the forensic audit, the country must now have the intellectual humility to admit that it’s been fighting the war in a wrong way. Faced with guerilla warfare, we need to develop a framework centered on Special Forces as well as an increase in specially-trained ground troops to destroy the terrorists. For example, it is clearly absurd to pursue fleeing terrorists on motorbikes with heavy armour. We should have developed our own Special Forces with their own specially-configured motorbikes, perhaps even using electricity, to pursue, overtake and dismantle them.

It is clear that the development of Special Forces is not in sync with the profiteering and racketeering in Defence expenditure. We must now quickly develop Special Forces as well as strengthen the intelligence framework at the local level and use technology to monitor the movements of the terrorists. Satellite sensors could have monitored the movement of scores of motorcycles moving symmetrically. We must also investigate the failure of intelligence.

Nigeria is in a very terrible situation and the entire sector of the war must now be configured in order to defeat terrorism. The top echelon of the Nigerian Defence system must study unconventional warfare, dating back about eighty years, to see how modern armies had to configure their methods to fight insurgents.

A key example is Dien Bien Phu in Vietnam. Seventy-one years ago, on the paddy fields of Vietnam, a lightly-armed, barefooted guerrilla army, led by a lawyer named Võ Nguyên Giáp, not only defeated but also destroyed the French Army, which had air power, armoured tanks, and the most modern weaponry at its disposal.

The Battle of Dien Bien Phu (March-May 1954) was the decisive engagement of the First Indochina War. Apart from changing the conception of warfare forever, it also showed that a revolutionary ragtag army can defeat one of the best armies in the world. Most importantly, it showed that guerrilla warfare is fundamentally different from state-on-state wars like Nigeria versus Ghana or Togo versus Niger Republic.

The French surrender ended its colonial rule in Vietnam and led to the country’s temporary partition. We must therefore study this as well as other examples of asymmetric warfare to resolve the ugly situation we now face. To put it succinctly, there must be a complete overhaul, for it is now clear that the constant changing of personnel is not the issue. The issue is that the strategy must change! It means that we must have a different force structure within the army!

It must also be noted that an insurgency movement mutates. When insurgents quarrel, which is not unlikely, divisions set in and the groups mutate, moving into different sectors. This means that, instead of fighting three groups, a country may eventually face ten or eleven. So, a country worth its vision and mission on security must anticipate this and nurture its strategic plans.

Eni tó kàn ló mò! (Only the wearer knows where the shoe pinches!). For yours sincerely, the argument that heightened insecurity is merely a pre‑election narrative for 2027 is too lazy to sound as an excuse. Do we think the parents whose children were kidnapped care a hoot about any election? Have we counted how many of the Chibok girls’ parents are still alive? What of the parents whose children were abducted from St. Mary’s Catholic School in Kebbi: do we know how many have ended up in the hospital?  For God’s sake, when will this madness come to an end?

Again, consider the ancient wisdom: “Àgbàrà òjò kò l’óun ò n’ílé wó. Onílé ni kò níí gbà fun.” (The intent of a heavy storm and flood is to wreak havoc, and that of those to be affected is to prevent it.) This dynamic defines all conflict. It stands to reason that nobody has ever waged unconventional, or even conventional, warfare without successfully infiltrating the security apparatus of the opposition. Unfortunately, this tactic takes a sinister turn in a religious war. Here, there are people who view it as a divine calling, making infiltration a sacred duty.

• To be concluded.

Email: ijebujesa@yahoo.co.uk.

Mobile: 08033614419 SMS only.

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Rightly tagged “Changing Gears 3.0: Solution Continues,” the proposal is more than a financial blueprint; it is an emphatic declaration that Anambra’s renaissance is now accelerating, not pausing at all.

Buoyed by an unprecedented 73% landslide re-election victory, the loudest democratic endorsement in the state’s history, Governor Soludo has turned the renewed mandate into rocket fuel. Where the first term laid unbreakable foundations, the second term promises to raise an entirely new skyline.

The Governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Christian Aburime, stated that the numbers speak for themselves: 79% of the 2026 budget (₦595.3 billion) is devoted to capital projects, such as roads, bridges, new cities, schools, hospitals, digital hubs, and industrial zones, while recurrent spending is held to a disciplined 21%. This 79:21 capital-to-recurrent ratio reaffirms Governor Soludo’s acclaimed fiscal prudence and proves a deliberate choice to build tomorrow rather than consume today. Duly rated on verifiable indices, Anambra now ranks number one in Nigeria for fiscal transparency and fiscal sustainability, proof that frugality and vision can co-exist.

He said of course, ratings would be pointless without impact. In Anambra today, the physical transformation is already breathtaking. Over 900 kilometres of roads are under construction, 600 km already asphalted in just 44 months, an average of 14 km of brand-new, high-quality roads every month. Eight bridges, the iconic Aroma Link Bridge, the completed Ekwulobia Flyover, and the new ‘Light House’ Government House and Governor’s Lodge have ended decades of infrastructural deficit.

Aburime affirmed that the Solution Fun City, now West Africa’s largest leisure and entertainment complex in Awka, welcomed over 100,000 visitors in its first three months. A 10-storey five-star hotel, a continental-scale shopping mall, Agulu Lake Beach Resort, and Awka City Park are all racing towards completion. Surely, the African Dubai-Taiwan-Silicon visualisation of Anambra is taking shape.

Yet, Governor Soludo’s vision goes far beyond concrete and steel, fun and fanfare. In education, the revolution is historic: 8,115 new teachers have been hired so far, public-school enrolment has gone up 47% in secondary and 27% in primary, and Anambra now boasts the lowest out-of-school-children rate in Nigeria! Twenty-two smart schools are fully operational, public schools are sweeping national awards, and mission schools receive over ₦1.2 billion monthly in salary support. In 2026, the state will build brand-new model primary schools in 30 communities that have never had one and establish two new specialist tertiary institutions.

Healthcare tells a similar story of compassion and competence. Ndi Anambra have enjoyed free antenatal care and delivery for 161,197 women with zero maternal mortality, plus 594 free caesarean sections. Four of the five new general hospitals have been commissioned in areas where there were none, 326 Primary Health Centres are being moderniaed with solar power and boreholes, a new Trauma Centre is completed, and an Oncology-specialist teaching hospital is on the way.

The youth are the beating heart of Governor Soludo’s Solution agenda. The One Youth, Two Skills programme has already graduated 13,300 “young millionaires.” Nearly 100,000 youths have received digital training, and the iconic Solution Innovation District, Anambra’s own Silicon Valley, is nearing completion. In 2026, the programme will scale even further, consolidating Anambra’s place as Nigeria’s emerging tech-talent powerhouse.

Security, once a dark cloud over the state, has been banished. From the nightmare of 2021-2022, Anambra is now widely regarded as one of the safest, if not the safest, states in Nigeria. Criminality, touting, and cultism have been met with zero tolerance, and normalcy has returned even to formerly troubled zones where unknown gunmen held sway.

Looking ahead, 2026 will see the commencement of the Anambra Mixed-Use Industrial City, the take-off of three new urban centres, namely Awka 2.0, Greater Niger, and the Aerotropolis/New Industrial-Commercial City, and the aggressive pursuit of PPP funding for the state’s Rail Masterplan. Clean water schemes will expand, the Anambra Electricity Market will open to massive private investment, and tens of thousands of poor households will receive free high-value economic seedlings and micro-grants.

Thus, going by his 2026 budget proposal, Governor Soludo’s message is crystal clear: there is no room for excuses. Even with a volatile macroeconomic environment and a naira whose purchasing power has been battered by inflation, Anambra refuses to slow down. Every kobo will be accounted for, every project will be executed with speed and excellence, and every community, urban or rural, rich or poor, will feel the touch of progress.

Anambra State is no longer just rising. Right under Governor Chukwuma Soludo’s focused, disciplined, and intentional leadership, it is sprinting towards its destiny as a livable, prosperous, smart mega city that will make every Ndi Anambra’s son and daughter proud.

Yes, the Solution continues. Truly, the journey is accelerating. And the best, as the Governor promised, is yet to come.

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But beyond the tragic loss of lives and communities torn apart, insecurity is quietly becoming Nigeria’s most devastating economic burden. It is the silent dagger cutting into the country’s gross domestic product (GDP), sabotaging investments, crippling agriculture, eroding human capital, and dragging millions deeper into poverty.

Recent events illustrate the depth of the crisis. In one of the most alarming incidents in Nigeria’s history, 315 students and staff were abducted from St. Mary’s Catholic School in Papiri, Niger State and a figure surpassing the infamous 2014 Chibok kidnapping. The Christian Association of Nigeria confirmed that 303 students and 12 teachers were taken after a verification exercise, making it one of the worst mass abductions the country has ever witnessed.

President Bola Tinubu of Nigeria

Parents wept openly on camera. A distressed woman told the BBC that her nieces, aged six and 13, were among the abducted: “I just want them to come home.” All schools in Niger State were ordered to close afterwards as a move that, while necessary for safety, further chokes already strained educational access.

This tragedy was not isolated. It was the third mass abduction in a single week. In Kebbi State, over 20 schoolgirls were kidnapped days earlier. A church attack in Kwara State left two dead and 38 abducted. The rapid succession of attacks forced President Bola Tinubu to cancel foreign trips, underscoring the gravity of the situation. These incidents reveal a terrifying truth that insecurity has become a pervasive national emergency, one that carries enormous economic, financial, human, and socio-economic costs.

Agriculture, which accounts for more than 25 per cent of Nigeria’s GDP and employs over 60 per cent of the workforce, is one of the worst-hit sectors. Across the North-West and North-Central, Nigeria’s food-producing zones, its farmers live in fear. Bandits ambush farmlands, burn crops, extort communities, and abduct farmers for ransom. Recent estimates suggest that over 200,000 farmers and rural inhabitants have been displaced, abandoning vast hectares of arable land. The Northern Governors Forum admits that up to 60 per cent of farmlands in key agricultural states have either been abandoned or severely underutilized due to unrelenting attacks.

The consequences are severe, resulting in reduced food production, escalating food prices, declining rural income, worsened inflation, and deepening threats to national food security. Nigeria now faces the possibility of a major food crisis by 2026, as farmers in Niger, Nasarawa, Kaduna, and Kogi warn that high insecurity, rising input costs, and massive post-harvest losses are driving them away from agriculture entirely. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) warned that about 34.7 million Nigerians could face severe food insecurity during the next lean season (June to August 2026) if timely and coordinated interventions are not implemented.

BLAISE UDUNZE

A Niger State rice farmer, Ibrahim Abdullahi, lamented: “The cost of fertiliser, pesticides, and fuel has tripled. Most of us are running into debt. If this continues, many will leave farming completely.” If farmers retreat en masse, hunger will deepen and Nigeria’s dependence on food imports will worsen.

Kidnapping for ransom has also evolved into one of Nigeria’s most lucrative criminal enterprises. SBM Intelligence reports that kidnapping has grown into a self-sustaining industry, no longer merely a symptom of weak security but a thriving criminal ecosystem. In the first half of 2021 alone, 2,371 people were kidnapped, an average of 13 per day. By 2024, the numbers had surged, with hundreds of kidnappings recorded within months. Ransoms worth billions of naira change hands monthly. These payouts drain household savings, wipe out small business capital, push families into debt, and funnel enormous sums into criminal networks that reinvest the proceeds in more sophisticated weaponry.

The wider economic effect is crippling. Families sell properties and liquidate businesses to rescue loved ones. Schooling, commerce, and inter-state travel are disrupted. Regional trade routes deteriorate. Investors, both local and foreign, flee high-risk zones. Entire communities slip deeper into poverty. Insecurity has dismantled the confidence required for investment, expansion, and long-term planning.

Business confidence in Nigeria has fallen sharply as insecurity spreads. Large corporations, manufacturing firms, logistics companies, agribusinesses, and multinationals now operate in fear. Many are either scaling down or completely exiting Nigeria. Factories operate on skeletal staff; supply chains are strained; transportation costs skyrocket; and insurance premiums become prohibitive.

Foreign Direct Investment has steadily declined over the past decade, while Nigerian investors increasingly relocate capital abroad. No investor thrives in fear, and no economy thrives without investment.

The human cost is even more devastating. Millions have been displaced, forcing entire communities to flee their homes, farms, and businesses. Displaced populations lose their homes, farms, schools, livelihoods, and community networks. Their absence from productive work reduces national output, shrinks tax revenue, and overwhelms urban centres already battling unemployment, rising crime, and overstressed public services. The theoretical perspective by Stewart (2004), which argues that insecurity destroys productive capacity by killing workers, damaging infrastructure, and displacing populations, finds painful validation in Nigeria’s current reality.

Nigeria’s insecurity is multidimensional and regionally distinct. In the North-East, Boko Haram and ISWAP continue to operate, exploiting porous borders and challenging state authority. In the North-West and North-Central, banditry and mass kidnapping have become entrenched. In the South-East, separatist-linked violence and illegal sit-at-home orders shut down economic activity weekly. In the South-South, oil theft, pipeline vandalism, and militancy drain billions in oil revenue. In the South-West, urban crime, ritual killings, and gang violence create pockets of insecurity that hinder business operations. Each zone suffers differently, but collectively, the threats cost Nigeria billions of dollars annually, hinder trade, restrict mobility, and erode state authority.

The financial implications of insecurity are staggering, far greater than many realize. Conservative estimates from security trackers, development agencies, and fiscal analysts indicate that Nigeria loses approximately $15 billion (N20 trillion) annually due to insecurity-induced disruptions in agriculture, trade, manufacturing, transportation, and extractive industries. These losses weaken GDP growth and deepen the country’s fiscal strain.

Meanwhile, Nigeria’s security spending has ballooned. Defence and security now consume between 20 and 25 per cent of the federal budget annually. More than N4 trillion has been spent on security in the past three years alone, excluding off-budget defence allocations, special interventions, and state-level spending. The opportunity cost is devastating: every naira spent fighting endless waves of violence is a naira not spent on education, healthcare, infrastructure, power, water systems, or technological advancement. Insecurity is not just costing Nigeria money; it is robbing the nation of future development.

This prevalent violence deepens poverty and inequality. Businesses shut down, schools close, markets collapse, food becomes scarce, jobs disappear, and vulnerable groups, especially women and children, bear disproportionate hardship. Healthcare deteriorates, rural communities empty out, and social cohesion breaks down.

Transportation and logistics, which happen to be the backbone of commerce, are particularly affected. Nigeria’s highways are now labelled among the most dangerous in West Africa. Haulage firms require armed escorts. Farmers cannot safely transport produce to major markets. Supply chains are broken, pushing prices even higher. When transportation collapses, commerce collapses, and so does the economy.

Food insecurity is escalating rapidly. Banditry is blocking farms, fuel prices are rising, fertiliser costs have tripled, farmlands are abandoned, and post-harvest losses are mounting. A nation that cannot feed itself cannot grow its economy.

Nigeria cannot achieve sustainable economic growth without restoring order. The solutions must be comprehensive: modernizing security infrastructure with drones, satellite imaging, and digital surveillance; building a unified national intelligence framework; empowering local and community policing systems; addressing youth unemployment; strengthening judicial processes; securing borders; and rebuilding public trust through transparency and accountability.

Nigeria’s insecurity crisis is not merely a security challenge; it is an economic emergency. It drains national resources, scares away investors, cripple’s agriculture, destroys human capital, and sabotages the nation’s pursuit of sustainable development. Until Nigeria defeats insecurity decisively, all economic reforms will remain fragile.

No investor thrives in fear.

No farmer plants on a battlefield.

No child learns in captivity.

No economy grows in chaos.

Security is the foundation of development. Nigeria must rebuild that foundation now or risk watching its economic future slip further away.

…Blaise, a journalist and PR professional, writes from Lagos, can be reached via: blaise.udunze@gmail.com

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Just weeks ago, in my earlier article titled “Tinubu’s 15% Fuel Duty: Taxing Pain in a Broken Economy,” I had argued that the proposed import duty, though designed with reformist intentions, was ill-timed and risked compounding Nigeria’s inflationary crisis. The central message was simple which is reform must not inflict further hardship on already struggling citizens. It is therefore commendable that the Federal Government heeded that call, demonstrating a rare responsiveness to constructive public criticism. The decision to suspend the 15 per cent duty shows that this administration is willing to listen, to adjust, and to prioritise the welfare of Nigerians above bureaucratic rigidity.

Nigeria’s economy is still recovering from the inflationary aftershocks of subsidy removal, exchange rate harmonisation, and fiscal tightening. Against that backdrop, any additional import tariff on fuel which is the single most critical commodity in the nation’s cost structure, would have triggered a cascade of price increases across transportation, food, manufacturing, and logistics. The government’s decision to halt the policy therefore, represents a holistic step toward economic relief and market stability.

When the import duty was first approved in October 2025, it was presented as a forward-looking reform. The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), led by Zacch Adedeji, proposed the measure to align import costs with local refining realities and discourage importers from undercutting domestic producers. In principle, the idea had merit. It sought to strengthen local refining, promote crude oil transactions in the naira, and ensure a stable, affordable supply of petroleum products.

Yet, good intentions alone cannot override economic timing. The implementation, scheduled for late November, risked amplifying inflation at a time when Nigerians were already grappling with high transport fares, shrinking disposable incomes, and rising living costs. It would also have widened the gap between policy aspiration and market readiness, given that domestic refineries, including the Dangote Refinery and several modular plants, are still ramping up to full capacity.

By suspending the policy, the Tinubu administration has demonstrated that economic reform is not about rigid adherence to plans but about flexibility and responsiveness to market signals. This decision not only stabilizes prices but also strengthens public confidence that the government is capable of balancing fiscal goals with social welfare.

The economic logic of this suspension is straightforward that in an energy-dependent economy like Nigeria’s, any increase in fuel import cost transmits directly into inflation. Transport fares go up. Food distribution costs rise. Manufacturing inputs become more expensive. Even small-scale traders in the street feel the pinch as diesel prices affect electricity alternatives. Therefore, by preventing an artificial rise in fuel prices, the government has effectively averted another wave of inflationary pressure. It has also given room for other economic stabilisers such as improved power supply, localized production, and currency management, to take effect.

BLAISE UDUNZE

Moreover, the NMDPRA’s assurance of a robust domestic fuel supply underscores the government’s effort to ensure market stability while preventing hoarding or profiteering. Its commitment to monitor distribution and discourage arbitrary price increases is a critical safeguard for consumers and businesses alike.

However, while the suspension offers immediate relief, it also presents an opportunity to rethink the broader framework for achieving energy security and local refining growth. If the ultimate goal is to strengthen local refining, stabilize fuel prices, and secure energy independence, there are smarter and more inclusive alternatives than import tariffs. The government should guarantee crude oil supply to modular refineries through transparent contracts and fair pricing mechanisms. Many smaller refineries struggle not because they lack capacity, but because they face erratic access to feedstock. Ensuring predictable crude allocation will allow them to operate profitably and contribute meaningfully to domestic supply.

Instead of penalizing importers through duties, the government can offer targeted tax incentives and financing support for smaller refineries to expand capacity. Access to credit at concessionary rates and tax holidays for equipment importation would accelerate output growth, create jobs, and foster competition. Regulatory fairness is equally essential. The downstream sector must remain open and competitive. The government must ensure regulatory equity so that no single player, whether public or private, dominates the market. Fair competition, not favouritism, will drive efficiency, innovation, and lower prices for consumers.

Nigeria must also address the hidden costs embedded in its energy logistics. The government should invest heavily in energy infrastructure like pipelines, depots, and transport networks to reduce non-tariff costs that inflate fuel prices. Currently, poor infrastructure adds unnecessary layers of cost to the final pump price. Reforming the power sector remains pivotal. Many industries and small businesses rely on diesel generators due to inadequate grid supply. A more reliable electricity system would ease demand for diesel, freeing up supplies for transport and export, while improving overall energy efficiency.

The government should also adopt a transparent pricing mechanism that allows market participants and consumers to understand how fuel prices are determined. Transparency discourages manipulation, hidden subsidies, and monopolistic practices. When prices reflect actual costs, trust grows, and market discipline follows. Such reforms will not only strengthen local capacity but also build a foundation for competition, accountability, and long-term sustainability, which are the true pillars of a resilient energy economy.

As the government nurtures the growth of local refining, it must also guard against a creeping danger of monopolistic capture. Protecting Dangote’s investment as the largest single-train refinery in the world is understandable. The refinery represents national pride and an enormous private commitment to Nigeria’s industrialization. However, promoting a monopoly, even unintentionally, would undermine the very goals of competition and consumer protection. No single operator, however efficient, should control access to crude supply, dictate market prices, or influence import policy. The Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) empowers the government to create fiscal measures that promote investment, but these must be implemented with fairness, transparency, and a clear focus on public interest.

A healthy downstream sector requires multiple active players involving modular refineries, state refineries under revitalization, and independent marketers, all operating on a level playing field. The government must therefore guarantee open access to crude oil, enforce transparent pricing of both feedstock and finished products, and prevent any operator from cornering market advantage through political influence. Monopoly breeds inefficiency, stifles innovation, and ultimately hurts consumers. What Nigeria needs is a competitive ecosystem that rewards efficiency, not proximity to power. A balanced and inclusive market structure is the surest path to sustainable self-sufficiency.

Beyond economics, this policy reversal underscores a deeper truth showing that reform must be humane. Citizens are not fiscal instruments but human beings whose welfare defines the legitimacy of policy. The suspension of the 15 percent import duty shows that the government can still listen, learn, and adapt, which is a welcome shift from the top-down approach that has often characterized Nigerian policymaking. But this responsiveness must become institutionalized. Policymaking should be driven by data and dialogue, not decrees. Stakeholders from refinery operators to transport unions and consumer groups must be part of the conversation before policies take effect. Reform, to succeed, must be sequenced with empathy, not arrogance.

Economic transformation is not measured merely by revenue gains or fiscal alignment, but by how it improves the quality of life of ordinary citizens. A humane reform process ensures that no policy, however noble, becomes a burden too heavy for its people to bear. The reversal of the 15 percent import duty on petrol and diesel is more than a temporary reprieve; it is a course correction toward sustainable and inclusive growth. It demonstrates that reform, when guided by compassion and common sense, can build confidence rather than resentment.

But government must go further to institutionalize competition, prevent monopolistic dominance, and pursue energy self-sufficiency without sacrificing fairness. Only by balancing protection with competition, efficiency with empathy, and ambition with accountability can Nigeria achieve the promise of the “Renewed Hope” Agenda. If this new direction is sustained, the suspension will not merely be remembered as a fiscal decision but as a moment when government rediscovered its moral compass, proving that in economic policy, the best outcomes are those that serve both the market and the people.

…Blaise, a journalist and PR professional, writes from Lagos, can be reached via: blaise.udunze@gmail.com  

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Let us begin with the first: Oyinbo po. That Tinubu chose this term in such a ceremonial setting was no accident. Translated loosely as “too English,” it was offered not to praise eloquence, but to mock its misplaced pride. Gov. Abiodun is known to be aloof from his constituents. He’s a Logs guy with scan respect for the ordinary folks in his home state. It was an indictment of Abiodun’s perceived detachment from the soil and soul of his people. Where others speak Yoruba at campaign grounds, invoking idioms that stir ancestral pride, Abiodun prefers Oxfordian cadence, crisp diction, and the linguistic aloofness of the dinner-party class. In the Yoruba political lexicon, this is not sophistication—it is sacrilege. The people do not want a governor who sounds like a UN diplomat; they want one who can drop a biting oriki when chaos calls.

If that first christening amused the audience, the second—Okanlomo Eleyi—evoked a different reaction. This phrase, more nuanced, more storied, and infinitely more barbed, was originally hurled by Tinubu with searing contempt during the APC primaries of 2022. Then, Eleyi—“this one”—was shorthand for disloyalty, a public rebuke directed at Abiodun for supporting Yemi Osinbajo over the political patriarch. Repackaged now with Okanlomo—“this one child”—it was a passive-aggressive reconciliation, forgiveness in folklore form, warning in affectionate tones. In Yoruba tradition, parents do not only punish; they perform memory in metaphor. Tinubu, the political patriarch, deployed this mechanism with precision, reminding the faithful: forgiveness may come, but the ledger remains.

And it is precisely in that ledger that Abiodun finds himself ensnared. Since Osinbajo’s failed bid for the presidency, Abiodun’s fortunes in Abuja have waned. Not a single state visit from the President. No federal projects dramatically unveiled. Ministerial appointments from Ogun have mysteriously escaped Abiodun’s fingerprints, curated instead by Tinubu’s own coterie. Even simple optics—like publicly lauding Ogun’s infrastructural strides—have been reserved. It is as though Ogun State sits at a political quarantine, its governor suspended between relevance and recall.

There is, of course, rich irony in all of this. Abiodun was not an outsider to the APC machine. He rose with Tinubu’s initial blessing, campaigned under the party’s banner, benefited from its structures, and yet—at the moment that demanded fealty—turned towards technocratic finesse. His support for Osinbajo wasn’t just a misstep; it was a doctrinal breach. Tinubu, a strategist of mythic proportions, does not forget such heresies. He records them, stores them, and waits for a stage—preferably one sacred, like a monarch’s funeral—on which to deliver judgment dressed as jest.

Yet even amidst this political penance, Abiodun remains inexplicably serene. He smiles through rebukes, applauds his own satire, and tweets compliments to the very hand that stays his invitation. There’s a certain tragic dignity in it, akin to a bishop praying for forgiveness at a mass he wasn’t invited to preach. The real question isn’t whether Abiodun erred; it’s whether he misunderstood the moral structure of Nigerian power.

For Tinubu, power is never about proximity. It is about memory. It is a web of reciprocities stretching decades, reinforced not by party platforms but by shared battles, secret handshakes, and late-night negotiations over amala and allegiances. Abiodun, polished and urbane, entered this ecosystem with spreadsheet logic, calculating his alliances with professional detachment. But Nigeria does not run on spreadsheets. It runs on myth, on rumour, on the sacred economy of gratitude and grievance.

That Tinubu’s rebuke was rendered during the Awujale’s Fidau must be understood beyond timing. Yoruba funerals are spiritual as much as political. They are arenas of power transition, moments when monarchs depart and mortals inherit their moral debts. By choosing this space to issue his satire, Tinubu baptised Abiodun not just before monarchs, but before ancestors. In Yoruba cosmology, the word spoken at the site of mourning carries eternal echo. The President wasn’t just speaking to those gathered—he was speaking to history. Okanlomo Eleyi is now canonised, etched permanently in the mythography of southwestern politics.

The consequences of such canonisation are far-reaching. With succession chatter already brewing in Ogun, Tinubu’s performance could be read as a green light to an alternative heir. There are whispers—vague but persistent—that Tinubu may back another candidate in 2027, one more culturally fluent, more ideologically obedient. Such a move would render Abiodun not a godfather but a ghostfather—a man who once had power but now lacks presence.

This brings us to the matter of post-office survival. If Abiodun plans to stay politically relevant beyond his tenure, two paths remain. The first is slow rehabilitation: a recommitment to Tinubu’s machinery, a public mea culpa wrapped in development projects and party loyalty. But such a journey requires more than apology. It requires re-submersion into Yoruba political rites—a willingness to eat the food, speak the proverbs, attend the weddings, and show up without invitation. It requires abandoning the diplomat’s posture for the chieftain’s swagger.

The second path is rebellion. Abiodun could join the growing coalition of displaced titans: Atiku, Peter Obi, El-Rufai, and the rest of the ADC’s grand conclave. This faction—still fluid, still experimental—is pitching itself as the antidote to Tinubu’s dominance. For Abiodun, this would mean escape from marginalisation, an entry into a new narrative. But it would also mean surrendering any claim to Yoruba mainstream politics, which remains firmly under Tinubu’s control. It would be a declaration of exile—not from the party, but from its culture.

Philosophically, what Tinubu has done with Abiodun is remind us that power in Nigeria is still oral, still ancestral, still governed by the morality of memory. There are no true pardons—only performances of reconciliation. Names like Oyinbo po and Okanlomo Eleyi are not labels; they are fables, designed to teach governors and guide successors. They represent a kind of political jurisprudence, where the judgment is laughter and the sentence is symbolism.

For Abiodun, this should inspire reflection. His polish, his grammar, his technocratic leanings are not inherently wrong. But in a system where language connects lineage, detachment invites danger. Leaders who do not speak the dialect of their people will often find themselves translated into irrelevance. The governor’s challenge now is not to regain Tinubu’s favour. That may come or not. The challenge is to regain narrative traction—among monarchs, markets, and margins. Because in Nigeria, once your name becomes a proverb, the people stop voting for you and start quoting you.

And what of Tinubu? His canonisation of Abiodun wasn’t merely satire. It was a sermon. The President used the Awujale’s passing as an occasion to rewrite political folklore, to teach younger politicians the value of loyalty, and to remind observers that forgiveness without recollection is foreign to Yoruba political theology. Eleyi may be accepted, but he will never be forgotten.

So, as Ogun prepares for its next act, and as Abiodun navigates the twilight of his tenure, the stage remains set. Will he reinvent himself within Tinubu’s orbit, speaking less like a diplomat and more like an omoluabi? Or will he embrace opposition, baptised now as a dissident by default? Whatever path he chooses, one thing remains true: Okanlomo Eleyi is no longer just a governor. He is a fable. And in Nigeria, fables do not govern—they warn.

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Onovo, who was the candidate of the defunct National Conscience Party(NCP) in 2015, said this in an interview with the ourcorrespondent on Monday in Lagos.

According to him, the only way to defeat the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the next Presidential election is a strong alliance of opposition parties against the ruling party.

Onovo described the coalition being championed by former PDP Presidential candidate ,Alhaji Atiku Abubabakar and other like-minded leaders to challenge Tinubu in 2027 as a step in the right direction.

“I was the brain behind the largest coalition ever in the fourth Republic which birthed the Coalition of United Political Parties(CUPP) and I can tell you that coalition is the only way, because a united minority is stronger than a divided majority.

“The coalition will win the 2027 election with 99 per cent votes if it is not self- sabotaged.

“Take it to bank, it will not fail, it will succeed and defeat the ruling party convincingly, if they do it well.

“If the coalition is not self -sabotaged, it will be difficult for APC to return in 2027,” Onovo,also an activist and Head of Policy Positions, Movement for Fundamental Change(MFC), said

On the mid-year assessment of the present administration ,Onovo said not much had been achieved in the area of security and provision of basic needs to the masses.

He urged Tinubu to use the remaining years of his first term to do more to tackle security challenges and improve living standards.

Onovo also advised Tinubu to strengthen his cabinet with technocrats and competent people in order to fulfil his campaign promises to Nigerians effectively

“The President needs to be clear about his objectives, he should be all out to better the welfare and security of ordinary Nigerians in the city and remotest areas.

“We need competent people in positions not loyalists. Let us get the right people, right strategies and ethical environment, while the President provides leadership and takes responsibility.

“We need the right commanders with strategies in security and economy to end insecurity and suffering. We must not sacrifice performance for loyalty” Onovo said.

Onovo also urged the President to fight corruption more vigorously and reduce inequality index ,which he blamed for insecurity and social tensions.

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To many African youths, Ibrahim Traore, who is popularly called “IB”, represents something rare in modern African politics. He is seen as a leader who defies Western dominance, takes decisive action, and speaks the language of sovereignty. His reception in Russia was more than a diplomatic gesture; in fact, it was a symbol of Africa’s shifting allegiances and growing disillusionment with democracy as practised under Western influence.

The Crisis of Democracy in Africa has been going on for decades. The West has presented democracy as the only legitimate path for African nations. But then, across the continent, democratic governance has often been marred by corruption, inefficiency, and neocolonial exploitation.

In Nigeria, for example, many believe that the country’s most enduring infrastructures, like roads, bridges, and refineries, were built during military rule but that since the return to democracy in 1999, the country has struggled with systemic corruption, worsening insecurity, and a failure to deliver basic services. The question then arises, if democracy was supposed to bring development, why do so many Africans feel left behind? Why are they suddenly celebrating a coup d’état if democracy has done better?

Burkina Faso under Ibrahim offers a stark contrast. In just two years, his government has made giant strides in combating jihadist threats, which is something France has failed to do despite years of its democratic presence. By expelling French troops and partnering with Russia, Ibrahim has not only improved security but also ignited a sense of national pride amongst his people and the entire African continent. His rejection of Western hypocrisy and his commitment to African self-determination is something that resonates deeply with a generation tired of empty promises.

To understand rise of African Defiance and why it unsettles the West, we must revisit Africa’s colonial past. France is one of the most brutal colonisers, which maintained control over its former colonies long after independence through economic and military dominance. The CFA franc, a colonial-era currency, still forces African nations to keep half their reserves in the French Treasury, effectively handing Paris control over their economies. French corporations dominate key sectors, while military bases ensure political compliance.

The U.S., even though they are less colonial, she has propped up dictators who serve her interests (like Mobutu in Zaire) while using institutions like the IMF and World Bank to keep Africa in eternal debt. When Africans elected leaders like Patrice Lumumba, who sought true independence, they were overthrown or assassinated. Democracy, as promoted by the West, was only acceptable if it produced zombie regimes.

Traoré’s Burkina Faso, alongside Mali, Niger, and the Central African Republic, is now challenging this system. By turning to Russia for security and China for infrastructure, these nations are asserting their right to choose their own partners. The West’s response? Accusations of “authoritarianism” and warnings about “Russian exploitation.” Yet, where was this concern when France controlled Burkina Faso’s gold mines or when the U.S. conducted drone strikes that killed civilians?

This debate is not just about military rule versus democracy. It is about governance that delivers. Traoré’s popularity stems from his ability to act decisively where democratic governments have failed. But military rule carries real risks like suppression of dissent, human rights abuses, and the lack of long-term stability. The challenge for Africa is not to romanticise authoritarianism but to demand systems that are both effective and accountable.

Or maybe, the solution lies in reimagining democracy itself, one that prioritises African interests over foreign agendas, a total crackdown on corruption, and one that empowers leaders who genuinely serve their people. Traoré’s rise is a symptom of a deeper frustration: the failure of Western-style democracy to meet Africa’s needs.

The hero’s welcome Traoré received in Moscow is a wake-up call. Africa is no longer willing to accept Western dominance disguised as democracy. If the West wants influence, it must offer real partnership, not exploitation. I foresee more African nations following Burkina Faso’s lead, seeking alliances with countries like Russia who treat them as equals rather than subordinates.

The question is no longer “Is military rule better than democracy?” but rather: “Why should Africa remain loyal to systems that have failed it for so long?

…Daniel writes this piece from Moscow, Russia

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For two decades, the United States has stood with Nigeria in the fight against HIV/AIDS under the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).  The U.S. government has invested more than $8.3 billion in Nigeria’s health sector and provided life-saving anti-retroviral treatment to more than 1.5 million people.  These numbers represent improved life expectancy and quality of life for these Nigerians and their families.  In clinics across Nigeria, I’ve met dedicated healthcare workers who deliver HIV prevention, treatment, and care, supported by the resources of the American people.  This work has done more than save lives – using HIV as an entry point, Nigeria’s health system has also benefited.  As Nigeria’s health system is strengthened, this important work will be led by government and engagement with the private sector to sustain the gains.  This commitment was reinforced during Ambassador Nkengasong’s recent visit, where his discussions with Nigerian health officials focused on how the Government of Nigeria would sustain the HIV health programs with strengthened Nigerian leadership and local ownership.

But positive health outcomes depend critically on good governance.  When medical supplies are diverted, when healthcare workers go unpaid, when facilities buy dangerous, counterfeit medications or lack resources due to mismanaged funds, it costs lives.  This is why the United States supports numerous initiatives, not only in the health sector, to enhance transparency and accountability in Nigeria.  Our programs work directly with government agencies and civil society organizations to strengthen fiscal responsibility with the goal of the state ensuring resources reach their intended beneficiaries.

The success of these efforts rests on respect for human rights and civic engagement.  When members of marginalized communities face discrimination in accessing healthcare, when citizens fear reporting blatant corruption like the need to pay for appointments or ‘free’ healthcare, or when vulnerable populations cannot advocate for their needs, development falters.  Through our partnership with Nigeria, we promote the rights of every person to access essential services and enjoy fundamental freedoms without fear or discrimination.

These three areas – health, transparency, and human rights – reinforce each other.  Consider the results: U.S.-supported initiatives have helped strengthen pharmaceutical supply chains, reducing theft and ensuring safe medicines reach patients.  Our human rights programming has empowered civil society organizations to advocate for marginalized communities, leading to better access to health services.  Our health system investments have created platforms for transparency that benefit all sectors.  And, perhaps most importantly, according to a recent survey by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Nigerians are both more frequently refusing to pay bribes and reporting bribe seekers to investigative journalists and rule of law authorities.  A shift in norms is beginning to take root and must continue.

The U.S. Embassy stands ready to support Nigerian voices pressing the fight against corruption in Nigeria.  To Nigeria’s government officials, civil society leaders, healthcare workers, and citizens:  your dedication to building a stronger nation inspires us.  Together, we can continue to advance the interconnected goals of better health outcomes, good governance, and human rights for all Nigerians.  Challenges remain, but the work we’ve done together shows what could be possible on a larger scale across these crucial domains.

As we mark these December observances, let us use this moment not just for reflection, but for renewed commitment and action.  The United States continues to stand with the Nigerian people as they carry out this essential work with their elected government.

Mills, the United Stated Ambassador to Nigeria, writes from Abuja

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That, perhaps, best describes the Nigeria of today. Or how else is one to consider the arraignment of 32 minors for alleged treason at the Abuja Division of the Federal High Court last Friday?

What type of country would choose to arrest and detain citizens – kids for that matter! — for protesting against mass hunger? How do Nigerian leaders sleep at night? The Police officers who arrested the kids, their superiors who ordered the detention, and the Director of Public Prosecutions who gave the final nod for the arraignment, are all in the vortex of evil: conscienceless, lacking in empathy, and evil.

The kids were seen scrambling for water and biscuits at their arraignment in court. Unkempt and clearly malnourished, the kids did not need to disclose the horrors that they must have been put through by agents of state since their arrest over the End Bad Governance protests across the country from August 1 to August 10. It was boldly written in their faces for the whole world to see.

As they were being docked, four of the kids collapsed and were rushed out of the courtroom because they could not stand.  The judge who knows, or ought to know, — that under the Nigerians laws, minors are not to be arraigned in open court with the bench disrobed, descending to the floor close to the bar, at a juvenile court session – placed a N10 million bail condition on the hapless, hungry kids! In other words, the bail that the judge gave with the right hand was withdrawn with the left. Bail is approved but the condition is so steep that the kids, children of nobody who spilled onto the streets to moan loudly that the government’s policies had turned them into scavengers, will each have to post a N10 million bail! What kind of cruel judicial system is that?

Relatedly, how do you describe a nation where Idris Okuneye, more commonly known as Bobrisky, is continually being harassed after putatively serving jail time? Bobrisky’s life choices are abhorrent to me. His is not the lifestyle that I would encourage in my family. But, hey, it’s his life! My duty is to mind my damned business. If his alleged voice is caught on tape telling someone that an unknown godfather ensured that he did not sleep in prison but that a comfortable accommodation was arranged for him close to the prison, and that the prosecuting agency extorted money from him to drop one of the charges against him, should it be that agency that will be arresting him and stopping him from enjoying his fundamental right to freedom of movement, since his jail term has been served in the eye of the law? Or, has there been a court order or process that he be remanded for another offense?

Appearing before the House of Representatives committee investigating Bobrisky’s allegations, Michael Anugwa, the deputy controller of corrections in charge of the Kirikiri maximum custodial center, at which he was ordered to serve his term, disclosed that his reported suspension by the National Director General of Prisons was “a social media suspension.”

“They did not serve me a letter, sir. It is a social media suspension,” he said, flatly, when asked why he was in Prison uniform although he was reported suspended after Bobrisky’s alleged voice was heard that N15 million was demanded and received from him to not be housed in prison.

Over one month after, mum is the word from the Prisons authorities on the declaration by Anugwa.

The President and the Minister of the Interior are abiding by the rule of the three wise monkeys: see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil! Over one month after, there has been no disclosure about the officials of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) who allegedly collected money from Bobrisky to drop money laundering charges, which would have on conviction earned him heftier punishment. The EFCC officials are not only walking free, but also  stopping Bobrisky from traveling out of the country!

Curiouser and curiouser!

Sometime in October 2023, military officers arrested 76 persons and arraigned them in a Gombe State court for allegedly attending a party for gay people.  To date, there is no report of how the matter was disposed of by the court. I repeat: It’s not a lifestyle for me, but can I please mind my Goddamned business? Isn’t that curious? What does it say about Nigeria?

The Nigerian justice delivery system is adept at delivering injustice. Or, how else can one situate the story of Ehis D Light Lilian Oseghale, wife of a Pastor who in Kaduna called for compassion in dealing with the Bobriskys of this world and people in same sex relationship. An entire community of hate was raised against her, her family and her church. From Kaduna to her home state, Edo, life has not been the same for Mrs Oseghale, a preacher of the word herself. The husband’s church, the Ruach House of Liberty, in Kaduna, Kaduna State, was burnt to the ground!

During one crusade in 2022, Oseghale was preaching at her husband’s church. While a question-and-answer session was going on, a congregant sought Pastor (Mrs) Oseghale’s views on same-sex union, to which she answered said that such people deserved love, care and understanding. “We should love and accept them because they are also human beings,” she had said.

The harmless response has set her life on a tailspin, with religious extremists making attempts on her life and family both in Kaduna and her home state, Edo. Mum has been the word from the government, including the Police.

The Nigerian currency is tanking daily, a meal a day is fast becoming a rarity. Hunger stalks the land, fuel prices have shot through the roof. Addressing these challenges seems not to be the concern of the government and leadership of the country. A protest against mass hunger is an evil to be crushed, even in flagrant disregard of the country’s laws. Bobrisky is an evil that must be dragged in the mud, but not the persons named in extorting money from him to pervert the course of justice. Persons with weird sexual orientations and their perceived sympathizers must be run out of town. Persons attending a party allegedly conducted by people of deviant sexual orientations, or a preacher canvassing love in dealing with such persons are the targets of hate with the active involvement of the government.

Meanwhile, people can continue to suffer starvation, homelessness, and want. The government is too busy chasing rats while the home burns, literally.

Nigeria is indeed a curious nation.

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